Assembly for Stabilizing Firearm Cartridge when Cartridge is in Firearm Chamber

ABSTRACT

An assembly includes an elongated main body configured to stabilize a cartridge while the cartridge is in the firing chamber. The stabilizing assembly further comprises an elongated main body having a first end portion and a second end portion and being formed with an aperture. An anchor pin is arranged in the aperture thus connecting the main body to the anchor pin. A spring is positioned in engagement with the first end portion and biases the main body to pivot about the anchor pin. The aperture is located between the first end portion and the second end portion. The second end extends laterally from the main body so that the main body and second end portion are arranged in an L-shape. The second end portion is curved to form a shape that is complementary to a cartridge and is configured to engage a rim of the cartridge.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/805,985 filed Feb. 15, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to firearms, and more particularly, to an assembly including a stabilizer for stabilizing a firearm cartridge when the cartridge is in a firing chamber of a semi-automatic or automatic firearm.

BACKGROUND

A firearm such as a semi-automatic pistol includes a frame for supporting a barrel and various operating components of the pistol. A firing chamber is located in the barrel. A slide, having an ejection mechanism is movably mounted on the frame. A firing mechanism is located in the frame and includes a trigger assembly. A removable magazine is stored in a well formed in a handle portion of the frame. The magazine is equipped with a spring bias mechanism to bias cartridges stored in the magazine toward the firing chamber. In operation, the magazine is loaded with cartridges and then inserted into the well in the handle portion of the pistol. The pistol is then cocked to place a cartridge in the firing chamber. The cartridge includes a rimmed casing holding a primer, powder and a bullet. When the trigger is pulled, the firing mechanism causes the pistol to discharge by hitting the casing with a firing pin. The primer explodes when hit by the pin and ignites the powder, which in turn burns, causing the bullet to exit the pistol through the barrel and a spent casing to remain in the chamber. The spent casing is then removed by the ejection mechanism and a new cartridge is moved from the magazine to the firing chamber. Unfortunately, placing the new cartridge in the firing chamber is not an easy task. Sometimes the cartridge gets jammed and the pistol has to be cleared or the firing pin may not properly strike the center of the casing. There are other problems with keeping a cartridge seated properly within a firing chamber. For example, wrongly sized or poor quality ammunition, poor quality powder, too much play in the firing chamber, widening of the firing chamber over time as the pistol is used, all can contribute to misfire, double feed, or failure to extract the casing. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a mechanism for stabilizing a cartridge in the chamber to prevent jamming or other types of malfunctions while increasing overall reliability.

SUMMARY

In general, the disclosure is directed to a stabilizing assembly for stabilizing a firearm cartridge in a firing chamber of a firearm. The cartridge includes a casing holding a primer and powder behind a bullet. The assembly includes an elongated main body configured to be mounted in the firearm and configured to stabilize the cartridge while the cartridge is in the firing chamber. The elongated main body has a first end portion and a second end portion and is formed with an aperture. An anchor pin is arranged in the aperture. A spring is positioned in engagement with the first end portion and biases the main body to pivot about the anchor pin. The aperture is located between the first end portion and the second end portion. The second end portion extends laterally from the main body so that the main body and second end portion are arranged in an L-shape. The second end portion is curved to form a shape that is preferably complementary to a cartridge and is configured to engage a rim of the cartridge.

The assembly is preferably mounted in a firearm with a slide and the assembly is mounted in the slide. An ejection mechanism is mounted on the slide and biases the cartridge in a first direction while the assembly biases the cartridge in a second direction generally opposite to the first direction. Preferably, the second portion is configured to apply more pressure to the cartridge than the pressure applied to the cartridge by the ejector. The slide is formed with a slot for mounting the main body, a hole for mounting the anchor pin, and a recess for mounting the spring. The slide includes an outer surface, which forms a flush surface with the main body.

In operation, a cartridge is loaded within the firing chamber and the cartridge is stabilized by the stabilizing assembly which biases the cartridge with the elongated main body. More specifically, the cartridge is biased by the main body which pivots about an anchor pin located in an aperture formed in the main body. Biasing the cartridge further includes biasing the second end portion of the main body against a rim of the cartridge. While the cartridge is biased in a first direction by the ejection mechanism, the stabilizing assembly biases the cartridge in a second direction opposite to the first direction. When the pistol is fired, a firing pin will hit the casing and ignite the primer, which causes the power to explosively ignite and propel the bullet out of the pistol. The exploding powder causes the pistol to generate vibration and the assembly absorbs the vibration to help increase stability.

The preceding summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present disclosure and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the disclosure can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure may be more completely understood in consideration of the following description of various illustrative embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top left side of a semi-automatic pistol showing the stabilization assembly in a slide that is on a barrel of the pistol.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the top right side of the pistol of FIG. 1 with the slide retracted.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the pistol taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the top left side of the slide from the pistol of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bottom of the slide of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the stabilization assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a perspective cutaway view of the slide taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main body of the stabilization assembly of FIG. 1 engaging a cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the slide and barrel of FIG. 1 showing the stabilization assembly engaging a cartridge in the barrel.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit aspects of the disclosure to the particular illustrative embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description should be read with reference to the drawings in which similar elements in different drawings are numbered the same. The detailed description and the drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, depict illustrative embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. The illustrative embodiments depicted are intended only as exemplary. Selected features of any illustrative embodiment may be incorporated into an additional embodiment unless clearly stated to the contrary.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

In the description of embodiments disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

With initial reference to FIGS. 1-3, a semi-automatic pistol, embodying a preferred embodiment of a stabilizing assembly 5, is generally shown at 10. FIGS. 1 and 2 are left and right perspective views of pistol 10. FIG. 3 is a cross section view of pistol 10 taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2. Pistol 10 may be arranged as shown; however, the invention is not limited for use in this particular type of firearm and may be used with other types of firearms. Examples of different types of semi automatic pistols are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,140,141, 8,950,100 and 9,739,550, incorporated herein by reference. Preferably pistol 10 comprises a frame 12 and a barrel 14 that together support a slide 16. Frame 12 may be made of any suitable material such as a polymer or a metal such as steel or aluminum. For providing a light-weight pistol, aluminum is preferred in one non-limiting embodiment.

Frame 12 may have a unitary monolithic structure comprising a body including a downwardly extending grip portion 18 configured for grasping by a user. As best seen in FIG. 3, grip portion 18 defines a downwardly open magazine well 26 configured for mounting a removable magazine 29 therein. Magazine 29 is a generally hollow structure configured for holding a plurality of cartridges 30 which are automatically dispensed and uploaded into breech area 35 of pistol 10 by a follower 36 moved by a spring 37 each time pistol 10 is cycled. Each of cartridges 30 includes a bullet (e.g. bullet 39 shown at the top of the plurality of cartridges).

Slide 16 is slidably mounted on frame 12 via a support rail and slide groove system 38 or other arrangement for axial reciprocating movement forwards and rearwards thereon when cycling pistol 10 under recoil after firing. As best seen in FIG. 3, recoil spring 40, operably associated with slide 16, acts to return slide 16 forward to the position shown in FIG. 1 after firing. Slide 16 is preferably formed of any suitable metallic material such as steel, aluminum, or others.

Barrel 14 defines a longitudinal axis 41 and includes a front muzzle end 42 and an opposite rear breech end 44. Barrel 14 also defines a rearwardly opened firing chamber 45 configured for holding one of cartridges 30 and a longitudinally extending bore 46 that is defined between front muzzle end 42 and opposite rear end 44 and forms a pathway for bullet 39. Bore 46 may be provided with rifling 47. Breech area 35 (or simply “breech”) is defined above magazine well 26 of frame 12 when slide 16 is retracted as best seen in FIG. 3. Barrel 14 has a thicker wall 51 disposed at firing chamber 45 of barrel 14. Barrel 14 may be formed as a separate piece from frame 12 as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,156, incorporated herein by reference.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a cartridge feed ramp 50 is disposed in frame 12 at the upper end of magazine well 26. Feed ramp 50 is positioned immediately below breech area 35 and adjoining an annular entrance to chamber 45. Feed ramp 50 has a concave cross-section and defines a cartridge feed positioned to slideably engage the slug or bullet at the front end of cartridge 30 when a top-most cartridge is upwardly dispensed and loaded into chamber 45. Slide 16 includes a forward facing breech face 52 which closes breech 35 as slide 16 is brought forward when firing pistol 10, and opens breech area 35 as shown in FIG. 2 as slide 16 is brought back after firing to allow spent cartridge casings to be ejected and fresh cartridges 30 to be loaded into chamber 45. Barrel 14 is preferably made of steel for strength and durability to withstand the high pressures developed by detonating a cartridge charge and increase the longevity of barrel bore 46 which encounters bullet 39.

In the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1-4, a recoil spring 40, best seen in FIG. 3, is concentrically disposed about a post 53 mounted on frame 12 below barrel 14 with one end thereof seated against a front wall 54 of slide 16. The other end of spring 40 is seated against a rear wall 55 disposed below chamber 45 of barrel 14. Since breech face 52 of slide 16 is disposed in the rear portion of slide 16, recoil spring 40 releasably urges breech face 52 forward so that it is normally engaged with chamber 45 of barrel 14.

A trigger-actuated firing mechanism operates to discharge pistol 10. The firing mechanism may generally comprise a trigger 56 slideably or pivotably mounted to frame 12 and a spring 57 for biasing pivotable a hammer 58 operably connected to trigger 56 via a mechanical linkage including a rotatable sear 59. Hammer 58 is configured and arranged to strike a firing pin 61 slideably disposed in slide 16. Firing pin 61 has a front tip which is projectable beyond breech face 52 when struck by hammer 58 to in turn strike a chambered cartridge. Sear 59 operates to hold hammer 58 in a rearward cocked and ready-to-fire position until trigger 56 is pulled. Pulling trigger 56 with a closed breech rotates sear 59 and releases cocked hammer 58 to strike firing pin 61 and discharge pistol 10.

When pistol 10 is fired, a force is required to accelerate a bullet from muzzle end 42 of barrel 14 with sufficient initial velocity to strike a target at a given distance. As a result, a recoil force is developed. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the recoil force acts against the cartridge casing to drive slide 16 rearwardly. This motion causes recoil spring 40 to become compressed and its subsequent expansion will return slide 16 to its forward position. During the cycle of compression and expansion of spring 40, pistol 10 will work to extract and eject the empty cartridge case from chamber 45, reposition sear 59 and firing pin 61 to their ready-to-fire positions, and pick up the uppermost cartridge from magazine 29, moving the cartridge up ramp 50 and forcefully ramming the cartridge into chamber 45. To avoid any problems of cartridges 30 of ammunition becoming jammed when being rammed into chamber 45, slide 16 must have sufficient momentum when being moved forward to ram cartridge 30 into chamber 45. In addition, stabilization assembly 5 stabilizes cartridge 30.

As seen in FIGS. 4-5, assembly 5 is mounted in slide 16. As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 8, assembly 5 includes an elongated main body 60 configured to be mounted in pistol 10 and configured to stabilize cartridge 30 while cartridge 30 is in firing chamber 45. Elongated main body 60 has a first end portion 62 and a second end portion 64 and is formed with an aperture 66. Anchor pin 68 is arranged in aperture 66 thus connecting main body 60 to anchor pin 68. A spring 70 is positioned in engagement with first end portion 62 and biases main body 60 to pivot about anchor pin 68. First end portion 62 has a tapered shape formed to accept spring 70. Aperture 66 is located between first end portion 62 and second end portion 64. Second end portion 64 extends laterally from main body 60 so that main body 60 and second end portion 64 are arranged in an L-shape. As best seen in FIG. 8, second end portion 64 is curved to form a shape that is complementary to cartridge 30 and is configured to engage a rim 72 of cartridge 30. More specifically, end portion 64 is shown as a generally square member with a distal portion with a tab 73 that is configured to engage a groove in cartridge 30 and a proximal portion with a curved surface 74 that engages cartridge 30. Curved surface 74 includes a flattened middle portion 75 with two curved side portions 76 and 77 defining a recess which is bordered on one side by a flattened area 79. Tab 73, curved surface 74 and flattened area 79 are collectively configured to define a shape that is complimentary to the shape of cartridge 30 and are configured to stabilize cartridge 30 while the pistol is discharged. Preferably main body 60 is integrally formed as one piece but can also be formed of multiple pieces fastened together.

As best seen in FIG. 9, an ejection mechanism 80 is mounted on slide 16 and biases cartridge 30 in a first direction due to a spring 82 while assembly 5 biases cartridge 30 in a second direction opposite to the first direction. Second end portion 64 is configured to apply more pressure to cartridge 30 than the pressure applied to the cartridge by ejection mechanism 80 or seen in FIG. 6. Slide 16 is formed with a slot 83 for mounting main body 60, a hole 85 for mounting an anchor pin 68, and a recess 89 for mounting a spring 70. A gap is formed between main body 60 and slide 16 to allow for the spring biased pivoting motion. A ramp 92 is provided to allow assembly 5 to pass by the rim of cartridge 30 during cycling of slide 16. A similar ramp 94 is located on ejection mechanism 80. Ejection mechanism 80 can take many different forms. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,678,340, 5,794,373 and 6,257,116, incorporated herein by reference. As seen in FIG. 1, slide 16 includes an outer surface 90 which forms a flush surface 91 with an elongated main body 60 of stabilizing assembly 5.

In operation, cartridge 30 is loaded within firing chamber 45 and cartridge 30 is stabilized by stabilizing assembly 5 which biases cartridge 30 with elongated main body 60. More specifically, cartridge 30 is biased by main body 60 to which pivots about anchor pin 68 located in aperture 66 formed in main body 60. Biasing cartridge 30 further includes biasing second end portion 64 against rim 72 of cartridge 30. While cartridge 30 is biased in a first direction by ejection mechanism 80, stabilizing assembly 5 biases cartridge 30 in a second direction opposite to the first direction. When pistol 10 is fired, firing pin 61 will hit the casing and ignite the primer, which causes the power to explosively ignite and propel bullet 39 out of pistol 10. The exploding powder causes pistol 10 to generate vibration that can cause ejection mechanism 80 to disengage cartridge 30. Assembly 5 absorbs the vibration to stop disengagement of ejection mechanism 80. Assembly 5 also helps increase stability to enable pistol 10 to fire wrongly sized or poor quality ammunition, work with poor quality powder, and reduce play in the firing chamber. Assembly 5 will also adjust for widening of firing chamber 45 over time as pistol 10 is used. In this manner assembly 5 will avoid misfire, double feed, or failure to extract the casing while increasing overall reliability.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure, those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that yet other embodiments may be made and used within the scope of the claims hereto attached. For example, not all pistols are the same size. Numerous advantages of the disclosure covered by this document have been set forth in the foregoing description. It will be understood, however, that this disclosure is, in many respect, only illustrative. Changes may be made in details, particularly in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts without exceeding the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure's scope is, of course, defined in the language in which the appended claims are expressed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A stabilizing assembly for a firearm formed with a firing chamber, said assembly comprising: an elongated main body having a first end portion, a second end portion, the main body being formed with an aperture located between the first end portion and the second end portion; and an anchor pin arranged in the aperture, wherein the main body is connected to the anchor pin and is configured to be pivotably mounted in the firearm and the second end portion is configured to engage and stabilize a cartridge while the cartridge is in a firing chamber.
 2. The stabilizing assembly according to claim 1 wherein, the second end extends laterally from the main body so that the main body and second end portion are arranged in an L-shape.
 3. The stabilizing assembly according to claim 1 wherein, the second end portion is curved to form a shape that is complementary to a cartridge.
 4. The stabilizing assembly according to claim 3 wherein, the second end portion is configured to engage a rim of the cartridge.
 5. The stabilizing assembly according to claim 1 further comprising, a spring positioned in engagement with the first end portion and biasing the main body to pivot about the anchor pin.
 6. A firearm comprising: a slide; a wall forming a firing chamber; and a stabilizing assembly including: an elongated main body having a first end portion, a second end portion, the main body being formed with an aperture located between the first end portion and the second end portion; and an anchor pin arranged in the aperture and connected to the slide, wherein the main body is connected to the anchor pin and is configured to be pivotably mounted in the firearm and the second end portion is configured to engage and stabilize a cartridge while the cartridge is in the firing chamber.
 7. The firearm according to claim 6 wherein, the second end extends laterally from the main body so that the main body and second end are arranged in an L-shape.
 8. The firearm according to claim 6 wherein, the second end is curved to form a shape that is complementary to a cartridge and is configured to engage a rim of the cartridge.
 9. The firearm according to claim 8 wherein, the second end is configured to engage a rim of the cartridge.
 10. The firearm according to claim 6 wherein, the assembly further includes, a spring positioned in engagement with the first end portion and biasing the main body to pivot about the anchor pin, wherein the aperture is located between the first end portion and the second end portion.
 11. The firearm according to claim 6 further comprising an ejection mechanism mounted on the slide including an ejector for biasing the cartridge in a first direction and wherein, the assembly is mounted on the slide so as to bias the cartridge in a second direction opposite to the first direction.
 12. The firearm according to claim 11 wherein, the second portion is configured to apply more pressure to the cartridge than the ejector.
 13. The firearm according to claim 10 wherein, the slide is formed with a slot for mounting the main body, a hole for mounting the anchor pin, and a recess for mounting the spring.
 14. The firearm according to claim 6 wherein, the slide includes an outer surface which forms a flush surface with the main body.
 15. A method of stabilizing a cartridge within a firing chamber of a firearm including a wall forming the firing chamber and a stabilizing assembly with an elongated main body said method comprising: loading a cartridge within the firing chamber and stabilizing the cartridge with the stabilizing assembly by biasing the cartridge with the elongated main body.
 16. The method according to claim 15 further comprising positioning a spring in engagement with a first end portion of the main body; and biasing the main body to pivot about a anchor pin located in an aperture formed in the main body, wherein the aperture is located between the first end portion and a second end portion.
 17. The method according to claim 16 wherein, biasing cartridge further includes biasing the second end portion against a rim of the cartridge.
 18. The method according to claim 17 further comprising biasing the cartridge in a first direction with an ejection mechanism and biasing the cartridge in a second direction opposite to the first direction with the stabilizing assembly. 